Hey ladies, sorry for the late reply as I’ve been swamped with work & watching kdrama! Haha…ok, here goes for the list of things I did before, during and after 2ww. Infact, till now I’m still drinking home-brewed chicken essence thrice weekly. So I guess I would have ‘killed’ almost hundreds of black chicken & the smell does turn me off now but for the sake of babies, trust me, you would do anything for them.
Before 2ww (about 1-2 mths before cycle starts)
1. RBS cooked with black glutinous rice & 2 egg whites on alternate days as brekkie
2. LRD daily throughout the day as replacement for plain water
3. Black chicken soup on every weekends which I will put either LRD; or huaishan, blackbeans & small handful of wolfberries
4. Long pants & socks when sleeping at night
5. Soak feet in warm water on alternate days
6. No cold/cooling drinks/food
7. Sleep early (normally I’m in bed by 10.30pm or latest 11pm)
Note: No. 4, 6 & 7 I’ve been practicing this ever since I started seeing ttc. So it’s not too much of an issue. And I’ve also been seeing a TCM with consistent acupuncture sessions w/o fail. I also did endo scratch for this cycle 1 cycle prior to FET.
During 2ww
1. Bottled chicken essence daily every morning
2. RBS cooked with black glutinous rice & 2 egg whites daily as part of brekkie/snacks/tea break
3. LRD daily throughout the day as replacement for plain water
4. Black chicken soup with huaishan, blackbeans & small handful of wolfberries which I drink around lunch time
5 Home-made chicken essence on alternate days
6. Long pants & socks at home almost 24/7
7. No cold/cooling drinks/food
8. Watch a lot of Korean romance comedy
9. Stay happy, be a couch potato & sleep early at night
10. I still went back to my TCM (Dr Zhao @ RH) for a few post ET acupuncture sessions
11. I also went to the zsnn at Havelock road to pray instead of the TPY Shuanglin temple. Somehow the ‘switch’ works for me. I prayed the week before ET, after ET and during the 2ww & of coz after getting my results. Am still gg there periodically hoping zsnn will bless our babies with good health.
After 2ww
1. Continued with RBS cooked with black glutinous rice & home-made chicken essence on alternate days
2. Long pants & socks when sleeping at night
3. Still no cold/cooling drinks/food at all
4. Still continued with my sleep early routine
Also, I ended up taking full 2weeks of HL as I did go back to work on the 4th day post ET but the moment I was at office, I felt terrible. I feel very stressed up and unhappy! So I told my boss and I just took leave all the way. Coz my TCM could feel my pulse was weak too and advise me to stay hm and rest. So just exercise your own judgement; trust what’s good for yourself and go with your gut feel.
And TBH, my breakfast/brunch/lunch wasn’t exactly healthy during the 2ww. Coz I try to minimize walking so normally my hubby will da-bao mcdees or those economical beehoon for me with fried stuffs and even kfc porridge for me which I will eat for brunch before he leaves for work. Then in the afternoon when I’m hungry I will drink my chicken soup or eat RBS. Dinner I will have a better diet as my mum will cook.
I did go out the day after ET as I had to celebrate my nephew’s bday and the very next day met up with our frens for coffee that’s all. No hardcore walking or shopping etc. just take it easy.
But for the above menu, do consume knowing your own body's condition. Coz I have cooling body constitution but with those stuffs, I did develop heatiness towards the middle of my 2ww and my TCM ordered me to stop the bottled chicken essence immediately. I also gurgle my throat with salt water 4 times a day to rid the sore throat symptoms as I don't dare to take honey or any forms of medication. I only take safe fruits like apple, coz in one of my failed fresh cycles which resulted in a CP, I remember having kiwi and thereafter having cramps after that. The cramping stopped once I stopped eating it. Then did I realized that kiwi is actually cooling. But I know some sisters swear by kiwi so you really must understand your body and determine what’s suitable for you.
My TCM told me that our overall well-being and body constitution is very important. It’s not just about your womb/uterus we should focus only but your kidney, spleen and I forgot another organ. Coz u need to not only just be able to conceive, but be able to hold the baby inside your body at the end of the day.
And if u have immunity issues like me, do not take immunocal. Coz u need to bring down your immunity and not boost it further with supplements. Same for supplements. Do check with your gyne/doc instead of just consuming it blindly as you won't know if the effects will be detrimental instead.
Lastly, I don't believe in 'last min hug the buddha legs'. Body conditioning takes a while and not overnight after you binge eat and it will improve in a blink of an eyes. Yes, it's yucky to be eating the same old stuffs almost daily but it's really mind over body. Other than luck in this IVF journey, it's really all about perseverance & focus towards that goal.
Think that’s about it. Good luck ladies & to those on the journey here!! Don't stress yourself, stay positive and believe that your babies are coming to u real soon! The law of attraction does work wonders!
P/s: sorry for the super long post.